Ban Nang Talung Suchart Subsin

Suchart Subsin was a National Artist and master of nang talung, the southern Thai shadow puppet tradition, until his death in 2015. His house and workshop in Nakhon Si Thammarat town, close to Wat Phra Mahathat, is now run by his family and the apprentices he trained, and it remains one of the best places in Thailand to see how these leather puppets are made and performed.

Hundreds of puppets line the workshop walls — figures carved from buffalo hide, each one cut and painted by hand, some for classic Ramakien-based tales and others for the newer, deliberately bawdy stories nang talung is known for in the south, where puppeteers work in modern references (motorbikes, mobile phones) alongside traditional plots. Craftsmen still work on site most days, carving new figures with fine chisels and tracing patterns that take years to master. Watching the process — sketching, cutting, tanning the hide, painting — gives a clearer sense of the skill involved than the finished puppets alone ever could.

A staged performance is the fuller experience, and it’s the family’s continuation of what Suchart built: shadows thrown onto a backlit screen, live narration, and music, with the same rhythmic chanting that’s defined nang talung shows for generations. It isn’t running constantly — you need to call ahead and arrange it, and a small per-person fee applies. Turning up unannounced still gets you the workshop and displays, just not necessarily a live show or craftsmen mid-carve.

Insider Tip: Call 075 346394 a day or two ahead if you specifically want to see a performance or catch the workshop with puppet-makers actively at work — a same-day walk-in risks an empty workbench.

Watch out: Don’t confuse this with a nang yai (large-puppet) show — that’s a different southern tradition, associated with temples like Wat Khanon in Ratchaburi, not with Suchart Subsin’s house.

The house sits within easy reach of central Nakhon Si Thammarat and pairs naturally with Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan, the city’s most important temple, a short walk or ride away — most visitors combine the two on a half-day loop through the old town.